Five things to watch for at Wednesday's city committee meeting

Springfield aldermen on Wednesday will discuss tax increases, a new sexual harassment policy and other items at its bimonthly Committee of the Whole meeting.

Because of the Christmas holiday, the meeting was pushed from its usual Tuesday slot to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Here are five issues to watch for at the meeting. All of the items listed would need a final vote from the Springfield City Council at a future meeting before they can be enacted.

Tax increases

Because of a possible $11.5 million deficit projected by the city's budget director, Mayor Jim Langfelder has once again proposed two of the same revenue-raising measures he asked for last year but was rejected by aldermen. An ordinance raising the telecommunications tax from 4 percent to 6 percent would yield about $1.2 million, which would be used to support the city's public library. The other proposal, an ordinance boosting the city sales tax by 0.25 percentage points, would raise up to $4 million, depending on when the city could start collecting the tax. If passed, the total sales tax in Springfield would go from 8.5 percent to 8.75 percent. A portion of the proceeds would be budgeted to pay off city debt.

Contract with police union

After two years of negotiation, three items in a contract between the city and the union that represents the city's police officers went to arbitration. The city council will weigh in on an ordinance that would accept some of the terms set by an arbitration panel, including wage increases and maintaining the status quo when it comes to sicktime sellback. However, the ordinance does not include the arbitrator's decision to make residency voluntary for the new hires, which the city is analyzing whether to appeal. Twenty of the 22 bargaining units in the city have agreed to residency requirements. The contract will expire in March and a new contract for the next three years will be renegotiated at the time.

State-required sexual harassment policy

After reports of widespread sexual harassment in the Illinois Statehouse, lawmakers passed two bills, one of which required municipalities to enact a policy addressing sexual harassment reporting and whistleblower protections. A policy for Springfield was modeled to follow state law and will be up for debate Wednesday. It lists examples of sexual harassment, spanning verbal, physical and electronic conduct. The policy prohibits retaliation, penalizes false reports and sets out fines and punishments for perpetrators.

Cash reserve policy

With budget discussions for next year starting in January and revenue shrinking, this ordinance would set ground rules on the size of the city's fund balance, which is calculated by looking at the city's current assets minus its current liabilities. The ordinance would set the floor for reserves to be at least 8 percent of the year's total operating budget. Currently, the city has 12 percent fund balance, while the Government Finance Officers Association recommends 15 to 16 percent, according to budget director Bill McCarty.

Winter warming shelter money

City Water, Light and Power customers have the option of donating to the homeless by rounding up their utility bill. Aldermen will debate whether to approve $6,400 of those donations to be used for expenses for the winter warming shelter, 1015 E. Madison St., which was opened in November with more beds. Expenses include property and grounds maintenance, laundry supplies, utilities and bond and property insurance payments.

Wednesday's meeting will take place in the city council chamber inside Municipal Center West, Seventh and Monroe streets. It also can be viewed live on cable channel 18 or on the city's website, www.springfield.il.us.

Corrections: An ordinance raising the telecommunications tax from 4 percent to 6 percent would yield about $1.2 million. The dollar amount was incorrect is a previous version of this article. An ordinance to be discussed Wednesday evening would set ground rules on the size of the city's fund balance. A description of the fund was incorrectly described in a previous version of this article.

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